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10 Reasons You’ll Love The Bosch AutoAir™ 500 Series Dishwasher

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Best Buy. All opinions expressed are my own. 

We’ve all been there. Post-meal cleanup. Those moments when you long to find yourself curled up in a large, inviting chair, with a book in hand and the promise of restless sleep a few glorious moments way.  But before you relax and unwind, you have to tackle that massive pile of dishes that we wish our handy dandy, yet-to-be-created teleporter would zap away our cleaning woes until morning. But friends, what if there was a product out there that could make this mess so much easier to clean up? Consider checking out the Bosch AutoAir™ 500 Series dishwasher.

Features of the Bosch 500 Series Dishwasher

Not only can the 24″ width accommodate nearly 4 meals worth of dishes ( for a family of 4), but its flexible 3rd rack wash larger dishes, platters, and pans as well. And with RackMatic, you’ll have you 3 height adjustments, with 9 possible positions for the whole washer to accommodate every dish in your cabinet. Plus, with the EasyGlide rack, you can load and unload dishes in a snap!

This dishwasher also boasts a 44-dBA noise level rating. That means you won’t hear the washer running. You’ll have to look over to see if the cycle is done. And with PrecisionWash technology, featuring a series of sensors that continually scan each cleaning cycle and powerful spray arms will target key areas, and a concealed heating element.you’ll be ensured that all your dishes will get cleaned properly.

24/7 Aquastop®

Protecting your kitchen floors will also be less of an issue as this unit comes with a 4-part leak prevention system uses sensors to detect and stop leaks, and can even turn on by itself.

AutoAir Technology

What’s most interesting about this dishwasher to me is that when the overall cleaning cycle is complete,  the AutoAir allows to let moisture escape and fresh air to circulate dishes and silverware for overall better drying results; compared to Bosch Dishwashers with PureDry capabilities. Meaning, each round of dishwashing will yield better, quiet, quicker results at home. 

The Bosch 500 Series is available at Best Buy starting at $899.99. With the free delivery option standard. So if you are looking for a new built-in dishwasher for the fam, The Bosch 500 series dishwasher is your way to go this season and beyond. 

Here are 10 reasons why you will love it:

  • A little fresh air equals a lot more dry.
  • Claim: AutoAir™ automatically opens the door at the end of the drying cycle to let moisture escape and fresh air circulate for better drying results. *Compared to Bosch Dishwashers with PureDry.
  • The Bosch 500 Series dishwasher delivers a sparkling clean and dry with advanced PrecisionWash technology and AutoAir.
  • With PrecisionWash, intelligent sensors continually scan and check the progress of dishes throughout the cycle, and powerful spray arms target every item of every load, for the ultimate clean.
  • The all-new AutoAir option automatically releases the door at the end of the cycle to let moisture escape and fresh air in for drier dishes*
  • Quiet operation (44 dBA)- incorporates 18 unique sound-reducing technologies such as multiple insulation layers, grindless food filtration, and a sound-absorbing base.
  • The large interior provides loading flexibility necessary to easily accommodate 16 place settings, and the Flexible 3rd rack adds space for cooking utensils and ramekins.
  • Every Bosch dishwasher is ENERGY STAR qualified and meets or exceeds federal guidelines, for year-round energy savings.
  • Sanitize Option reduces 99.9% of bacteria with a hot-wash rinse for sparkling clean and sanitized dishes.
  • FlexSpace™ Tines on the lower rack – fold down every other tine in one simple step to make room for larger, bulkier items while optimizing the rack space.

Friends, this dishwasher will make a great addition to any kitchen renovation especially with the holidays being right around the corner. Because if you have a large family or are always cooking for events, this is the dishwasher for you. Now I want to ask, are you in the market for a new dishwasher at home? Share your thoughts of this unit in the comments below. 

5 Tips for a Healthier Summer with Lindsay Snack and Go! Olives

This post is sponsored by MomsMeet.com. All opinions expressed are my own. Thank you.

Lindsay Olives

Leading a healthy lifestyle is something we all want to do, right? But for WAHWs, who are being pulled in a million directions, it can feel nearly impossible. While not an expert on health, nor a billboard for the ideal body type, I do know a few things about health and wellness at home. In fact, over the past year and a half, I’ve lost 117 pounds. With a large part of my success being attributed to maintaining a healthy business and familiar boundaries, a consistent self-care routine, planned workouts at home, and a constant meal prep schedule.

Because to me, a healthy lifestyle doesn’t mean deprivation and is not measured by the way of the scale. Instead, it means a happy, active life that I can spend nurturing relationships with my family all while maintaining healthy food options at home. Options you can easily make for yourself too! Which is why I’m sharing with you today my 5 favorite tips for leading a healthier lifestyle this season at home:

1. Eat your frogs early.

One way I maintain a healthier lifestyle at home is by consistently waking up early each morning. I wake up daily at 5 am. I then set out to eat my frogs early, and by this I mean, start performing the tasks I don’t necessarily enjoy doing but must get done. Including getting into a treadmill routine each morning before 6 am. This allows me to get my last favorite activity done quickly and allows me to get on with my day. Then, by having this task done, I feel more accomplished, am in a better mood, and have a better framework to start off my day. All because I eat my frogs early.

2. Meal plan weekly.

At the start of each month, I sit down and work out a monthly meal plan and working shopping list. This helps me to eat better meals, have consistency in our portions, and to only stock our home with an easy-to-prepare plant-based meal at home. This also allows us to save quite a bit of money at the store. As instead of picking up meals on-the-go, we can have planned, prepped meals ready to make. Meals my family looks forward to eating each week.

Because by consistently meal planning, I am able to eat better meals at home but also meals featuring fresh and locally sourced products that are often more zero-waste too! Especially in the fall with the affordable abundance of butternut squash, cranberry, zucchini, and pumpkin dishes that can be made on a dime!

Did I mention that we meal plan and shop for a month’s worth of meals for under $200.00 monthly? There’s that too. Which is meal planning is my favorite way to save money and lead a healthier lifestyle at home! Now, if you’d like to see this past month’s meal plan, click here!

3. Prep healthier snacks at home.

One of my biggest food triggers is savory foods. And when I don’t have these foods prepped at home I tend to fill the void with lower quality, processed foods. To prevent this, I keep our fridge stocked with quick, easy-to-grab finger foods. Foods that help satisfy m foodie cravings while helping me stay on target, health-wise, at home. Especially important with the barrage of fall holidays throughout the season!

Lindsay Olives

Lindsay Olives

Lindsay Olives

Lately, I’ve been addicted to all things salty and savory. So I make sure to keep Lindsay Snack and Go! Olives on hand. They come in a convenient little snack cups, for when you just need a little something to get you by between planned meals at home. I also love that they come in four varieties: Pitted Black Ripe, Sliced Black Ripe, Kalamata Pitted, and Pimiento Stuffed Spanish
Manzanilla Olives. They’re also gluten-free, keto-friendly, vegan, and obviously, plant-based. Perfect for nearly every dietary style at home. Which checks off all my snack-worthy requirements!

Lindsay Olives

Lindsay Olives

I can pack them in my yoga bag, my family’s lunch bags, and keep some ready in our food pantry for guests that drop by too! And if you want to try them this fall as well, from the comfort of your own home during the crazy, hectic back-to-school season, be sure to visit Lindsay Olives, and use promo code LINDSAYVIP19 to receive 20% off your order of Lindsay Snack and Go! Olives.

These awesome on-the-go snack cups are also available in your local grocery store nationally at  Raleys, Safeway, Albertsons, Vons, Winn-Dixie, and Bi-Lo, located in the condiment aisle. To find a store near you, click here.

4. Give yourself grace.

Even with the best of meal planning and meal prep standards in place, slip-ups happen. Because life gets busy. Which is why I also sometimes grab just a cup of Lindsay Snack and Go! Olives and just a little cut up fruit and veggies instead of a whole meal. Sometimes I might even grab a quick vegan wrap out. A veggie sub. A burrito bowl. Or a big bowl of vegan nacho-cheese flavored popcorn! It happens to us all, and when it happens to you this season, give yourself plenty of grace!

5. Bust a move.

I’ve never loved the gym. We’ve never been the best of friends. Which is why I exercise at home and find seasonal ways to incorporate more exercise into my healthy lifestyle at home by finding ways around this. Especially in the fall when my family and I walk by our local lake, take in the sights, and enjoy all the blazing color this season has to share. Then, in the time it takes to get a few conversations in about our week while enjoying nature, I’ve been able to walk 3-4 miles. There’s something to be said about getting your heart pumping while enjoying the fall foliage!

Friends, those are my super simple tips for leading a healthier lifestyle at home this season. Tips that are neither too demanding or simplistic, but rather are small, obtainable goals that can help you be in better shape and spirits before the start of the new year! Also, be sure to check out this coupon and give Lindsay Snack and Go! Olives a try. Then be sure to leave me a comment below and let me know your favorite tips for healthier falls at home!

Connect with Lindsay Olives

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Lindsay Olives

Money-Saving Tips For A Wallet-Conscious Vacation

(Image Source)

Travel has become significantly more accessible over the last few decades. Never before have so many people had the opportunity to see the world, with people from all walks of life going on adventures which would have been impossible just a generation or two before? Of course, though, while travel is something which more people have access to, it is still far more expensive than a lot of people can reasonably afford. To help you out with this, this post will be exploring a range of different tips which can secure the cheapest possible vacation for you and your loved ones, all without having to put a huge amount of work into it.

Last Minute or Well In Advance

The price of a vacation will change over time. Fluctuations in popularity, the time of day, and even the particular person visiting the website will all help to dictate the price which is shown on the screen. Of course, along with this, the time between booking and the vacation itself can also make a huge difference.

In Advance: Booking in advance is the option most people choose when they are looking at vacations. This ensures that you have the widest range available to you, with the very best hotels being those which can offer both luxury and unbeatable prices, along with giving you the chance to take advantage of the low prices which are posted long before a vacation is due. Of course, though, you have to be able to plan ahead to make this work, and a lot of people simply don’t have this power.

Last Minute: Unlike most things in life, there can be real benefits to booking your trip last-minute. When a company is struggling to get rid of the rooms they have, they will often lower their prices dramatically, hoping to catch those who want a vacation but don’t want to pay a huge amount for it. This applies to hotels, flights, and just about everything else you need for your vacation, but you often won’t be able to go directly to the companies selling the breaks. Instead, you will need to look for websites which can fill this gap.

Off-Season

Thanks to school holidays, public holidays, and other seasonal events, it can be hard to book a vacation in the time slot you want without having to pay a small fortune for it. Even with kids, though, you often don’t have to travel during the heat of everyone else’s breaks, and can simply take time out of work and school to go away when no one else wants to. The weather will be beautiful and the hotel will be quiet, creating the perfect environment for a lot of families. Going away during times like this can save a small fortune, especially if you’re going to a popular spot.

A Personal Approach

For a lot of people, the idea of traveling without a package will seem like far too much work when booking their vacations. It’s easy to find yourself looking for the easiest possible route to your trip, though this can often prove to be a mistake when you’re trying to save some money in the process. Instead, by choosing to organize most of the vacation for yourself, you can often save a good deal of money, and this doesn’t have to be a challenge.

It all starts with the flights you’ll be choosing. Most airports will have a weekly schedule, and this means that you will almost certainly be able to choose the exact week you’d like to jet off. Once you have the dates and times for your flights, you can begin to search for accommodation. Sites like Airbnb have made this far cheaper than it used to be. With flights booked and somewhere to stay in mind, the last job you’ll have will be to book transport from the airport to your villa or hotel, and this should be nice and cheap no matter the time of year.

Your Location

Despite the world becoming smaller every day, there are some aspects of localization which will never change. Economies, for example, are unique to the place they call home, with each city, town, and other settlements all having their own prices for goods and services. This means that picking the wrong location can often result in a vacation being far more expensive than you might expect. You should research the cost of restaurants and shops before you travel, picking places which are cheaper than home to make it feel like you’re saving even as you spend.

Trips & Excursions

While the hotel and its surrounding areas are likely to be very picturesque, most people will want to do more than simply sitting around in their hotel when they go away. Of course, though, paying for excursions can often be far more expensive than people expect. One of the best ways to make this cheaper is by simply booking them before you set off. While this will give you less freedom to choose what you want to do each day, it will almost always save you money. With the chance to see all of the deals before you choose which one you’d like to go for, you will have a proper chance to compare and find the options which suit you the best.

Using The Internet

Over the last few years, loads of websites have sprung up which are designed to make it easier to save money on your vacation. With the help of services like this, you can almost always find good deals on each aspect of the break you’re planning. Even if you don’t end up using them to book your services directly, it’s always worth using options like this, as they can often make you aware of options which you didn’t know existed.

Discount Sites: There are a lot of websites out there which are designed with the idea of providing discount codes in mind. When it comes to travel, this could save you hundreds, with some deals offering discounts as high as 15% off the price of the entire break. An Orbitz promo code, for example, could make a $750 vacation go down as little as $675, and spending more will only make the savings increase.

Blogs & Forums: Over the last few years, people across the internet have begun to band together in the fight for cheaper vacations. With loads of blogs, forums, and other community-driven options available, it’s easy to get advice and find new options which you didn’t know existed. This can save you loads of researching, while also making it easier to get your hands on a vacation which you’ll love.

Trackers: With the prices of flights, hotels, and other vacation essentials changing on a daily basis, figuring out the right time to buy can be a challenge. To fill this gap, several price scanner websites have hit the market in recent years. By monitoring price trends, they can give you a much better idea of the right time to buy. SkyScanner is a great example of this and has proven its worth for a lot of people over the last few years.

With all of this in mind, you should be feeling ready to take on the challenge of saving money on your next vacation. A lot of people struggle with this sort of work, finding it hard to know what they need to do when they’re trying to make this part of their life cheaper. Of course, though, research is always the biggest key and will be one of the best tools you have when it comes to making your vacations more cost-effective.

5 Ways To Spring Clean Your Life

Please note, this is a sponsored post on behalf of Lawyers of Distinction. All opinions expressed are my own.

 

5 Ways To Spring Clean Your Life

Spring is officially here! And while many of us are knee-deep in the process of Spring Cleaning, I decided to write a post on something that you may have overlooked this season. The need to declutter your overall perspective. Something we should all do each and every Springtime at home.

After all, who couldn’t stand to improve our lives, homes, and businesses with the start of each new quarter? And what better time to give your life a proverbial refresh than Spring. With that in mind, here are 5 ways that you can spring clean your life!

1. Your Home

When it comes to Spring cleaning, its only right to start with your environment at home. There is just something about having a clean, de-cluttered, and organized space that helps improve your life, clear your mind, and to redirect your focus and your mind.

For me, I know that a new season starts with a clean, cleared space. It helps me feel productive and stay more focuses on my business at hand and can do the same for you!

Studies also prove that decluttered spaces increase your happiness and contribute to reducing your stress levels. Which benefit your health and overall well-being.

I love to start my Spring cleaning in my bedroom and then move on to my office area. This ensures that two of the most profound areas in my life, where I work and where I regenerate each day. is what they should be. I also make a point of scheduling administrative days on the last working day of the month. Days devoted to making sure my goals are being met for my home, my business, and my family life too!

Now if you are just starting a season of decluttering, start off with de-cluttering things you don’t need or use anymore. You can also get rid of things that simply don’t bring you any happiness or remind you of a bad experience. Whatever works best for you.

My general rules of thumbs are to donate an item that hasn’t been used for one year, won’t be used during the holidays, or can easily be replaced in the future.

It’s also helpful to make a list of all the areas of your home that you want to spring clean and have a designated day for each task. This helps you make the most of your decluttering time at home.
Re-arrange your home and organize it in a way that will bring in more space to your home.

2. Downsize your Digital Life

As a digital entrepreneur and blogger, I know the idea of downsizing your digital life can be daunting. But think small. Make a list of your digital distractions and see if you can do without any specific apps, social media accounts, or browser extensions. Consider decluttering unnecessary pictures, documents, pdf files, printables, and software that may be bogging down your systems.

If you work from home, be sure to do a legit scan of your mobile devices to make sure that each of your apps still serves a purpose in your business and home life. Deleting any apps that you’ve not used within the last 3 months. Then set a date on your calendar one season from the date of your digital decluttering to reevaluate your progress.

3. Let Go of Busyness

It’s easy to get addicted to the business of everyday life. From overbooking our schedules to taking on too make volunteer responsibilities, busyness can easily creep into your life. To remedy this, look at your planner or calendar and ask yourself if all those To Do’s are truly necessary and cost-effective in your current season of life? Are there places in your schedule that can be decluttered?

Instead, create a daily schedule of small, obtainable tasks. Goals that can not only be marked off your list but help progress your life, home, and business from one hour to the next.

And to give yourself a workable measure, remove just one task from your daily schedule each day and replace it with 30-minutes of self-care time. Then before you add more tasks to your schedule, ask yourself, “is this task worth my self-care time?” More than likely its not!

Because in the end, you sometimes have to say no to others to be able to say yes to yourself. Something that cannot be accomplished with an archaic, overbooked schedule.

We need to learn that we can’t get everything done in just a day, it is best to take it one day at a time. If you find that you’ve overbooked your day with too many things, then try to prioritize them and see which ones can get done the next day.

4. Rid Your Life of Negativity

One of the best ways to Spring clean your life is to rid your exitance of things that may be physically or emotionally holding you back. Including negativity.

A few ways you can easily accomplish this goal is to first and foremost, think more positively. Making a priority out of thinking positively can change not only your perspective, but the atmosphere in your home, and the course of your life too!

Some of the best ways to rid your life of negativity are to get rid of toxic people, online and in real life, and instead choose to surround yourself with positive people. Folks that challenge you in healthy ways. Keeping in mind, that just because you don’t see completely eye-to-eye with someone else doesn’t mean they are a negative person. And that surrounding yourself with only like-minded people doesn’t truly help you grow as a person. Being placated is never a good look on anyone!

Also, consider how you consume information. Consumerism, the news media, and even friends and family can inundate us with information that can leave us feeling drained and in a mood of uncertainty and anxiety.

I personally remedy this by focusing less on social media and online publications and instead ascertain my news information from credible sources in print form. Including my local newspaper, medical journals, seasoned publications such as the New York Times, and my quarterly law school review.

5. Get Your Legal Affairs in Order

No one likes to discuss the harder aspects of life. But it’s one of the most important areas of life as we age and so it bears repeating- In order to properly Spring clean your life one must get your legal affairs in order too!

As a former legal professional, this is a measure near and dear to my own heart!

And what I mean by getting your legal affairs is to first make sure the big tasks are covered by proper estate planning. Including the following questions:

  • Is your will up-to-date?
  • Do you have a notarized medical directive?
  • Does your family know you wish to be an organ donor?
  • Do your loved ones know you wish to have funds posthumously given on your behalf?
  • Do you have a trustee appointed for your estate?
  • Do you have longterm plans for your retirement years?
  • Will your children be properly provided for, both financially and in terms of guardianship, in the unlikely occurrence of your death?
  • Are you are your spouse or partner legally mentioned on one another’s wills, records, deeds, business ledgers, titles, utilities, and accounts?
  • Are your pets and their care mentioned in your estate planning?

All measures that can turn the passing of a loved one into an emotionally draining fiasco. Measures that can be quickly and painlessly avoided by the visit to a legal professional in your area.

And when it comes to finding the right legal professionals, you don’t want to leave your most important issues to change. Make sure to check out the Lawyers of Distinction website. A directory of legal professionals that can quickly help you find the right attorney to meet your personal legal needs in your area.

Lawyers of Distinction also offers consumers tax aid advice and a directory of members for quick referencing this season.

All-in-all, Springtime is the perfect season to make sure your hardest hitting tasks are checked off your list. Especially when it comes to the legal security of yourself and your family.

So, everyone, those are the 5 ways to spring clean your life. I hope you found this post helpful and you found some inspiration to start spring cleaning your life! Now I want to ask, will you be using any of these tips to Spring clean your own life this season? If you are, please share your thoughts below!

5 Ways To Spring Clean Your Life

Bring Holiday Lights to Life with Holiday Specs

Looking for a unique stocking stuffer or holiday gift that anyone can enjoy? Look no further because I may have found your next holiday party gift, stocking stuffer, or gift for your own kiddos at home with the Holiday Specs 3D Glasses made by American Paper Optics, glasses that turn holiday lights into 3D snowflakes, reindeer, candy canes, elves or gingerbread men!

The Holiday Specs 3D Glasses are made by American Paper Optics, a manufacturer of paper 3D eyewear. These glasses come in both plastic and paper versions and have patented holographic lenses that feature more than 10-holiday images. These images are visible when you wear the specs while looking at any bright, single point of light.

These awesome glasses turn holiday lights into an awesome 3D show full of snowflakes, reindeer, candy canes, elves or gingerbread men! What’s really neat is that they are made by Holiday Specs 3D Glasses are made by American Paper Optics, a manufacturer of paper 3D eyewear. Available in both plastic and paper with patented holographic lenses that feature more than 10-holiday images per pair of specs.

The glasses come in both plastic and paper versions, and both feature patented holographic lens inlays that give the wearer more than 10-holiday images, and according to the instructions, if you wear the glasses while looking at any bright, single point of light, you’re automatically transported to the North Pole, making these glasses great for looking at holiday lights at home, town Christmas parades, light shows, and for family trips to view your neighborhood holiday lights.

Everyone in my family was excited to try each pair of glasses to see their different holiday images. When we first received our glasses we were able to plug in a string of colored lights (that we received with our review glasses), put on a pair of specs, and sat back to watch the magic happen! Especially when presents were paired with gift tag 3D eyewear!

I love that the glasses themselves are easy to wear and comfortable on the face, both the plastic and paper versions respectfully. I also liked that the glasses are decorated with graphics to indicate the type of image that will be displayed. It was exciting to see the holographic images on each bulb and experiment with the various pairs of glasses helping to bring our Christmas lights to life!

Something else fun this holiday season is Holiday Spec’s line of Halloween-themed specs as well as Oktoberfest, football, and party-themed glasses too! Perfect for taking your family to view Autumn and Halloween decor and porchscape displays this season. They would also make a great gift for school functions, birthday parties, and retirement functions as well!

You can find Holiday Specs in packages of 25 or more, starting at $1.50 each, with Holiday Magic 3D Viewers sold both individually or in a 5-pack, starting at $4.00 each on HolidaySpecs.com. I encourage you all to check out these awesome glasses from Holiday Specs help bring holiday lights to life!

Friends, what Holiday Specs would you most want to try out for yourself or your family? I’d love to hear about it below!

Connect with Holiday Specs:

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Crock-Pot Apple Chai Cider

Crock-Pot Apple Chai Cider

There are so many things that I love about this time of year. From the falling leaves to the holidays and festivals, life is good in the Fall. One of my more favorite things this time of year? Crockpot Apple Chai Cider.

This warm, spicy, soothing drink is always a favorite for family get-togethers, and even for fun, family movie night deep in the Fall. What I love about this recipe is that it’s super easy to make, stores well, reheats like a dream, and encompasses my two favorite drinks, cider, and Chai tea.

The best part? It can be prepped in under fifteen minutes!

Crock-Pot Apple Chai Cider

Now if your looking for a fun, frugal way to get an early start to the fall season here’s how to make Crockpot Apple Chai Cider:

I start by gathering my ingredients, including whole organic apples. I generally use a blend of the gala, granny smith, and Macintosh apple varieties. I also gather my other supplies including apple cider, ground cinnamon, apple cider vinegar, chia seeds, and Himalayan pink salt.

Crock-Pot Apple Chai Cider

I always start by peeling, coring, and seeding my apples. This is easily done with an apple peeler. I like to use my cores to make apple cider vinegar.

Crock-Pot Apple Chai Cider

Take the cored sections and place them in a shallow baking dish. Sprinkle each apple, including all of the inner rings, with a generous amount of the cinnamon and sugar blend. Then set aside.

Crock-Pot Apple Chai Cider

Then need to fresh-brew 3 cups of organic chai tea. This is my favorite brand to use, but feel free to use whatever you have on-hand at home. To save time, I use my Keurig to brew three batches into my measuring cup and steep for 10 minutes. Then the cider is ready to spice!

Crock-Pot Apple Chai Cider

Crock-Pot Apple Chai Cider

I like to soup up my blend by adding my own chai spices to the cider, including cardamom, fresh ginger, whole cinnamon sticks, whole black peppercorns, and clove. Adding 3 cups chai tea, 1 teaspoon chia seeds, dried orange slices, and ground spices to the bottom of your crockpot. Stir gently to combine.

Crock-Pot Apple Chai Cider

Crock-Pot Apple Chai Cider

Finally, add your apple slices and top with 1/2 gallon apple cider and 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar. Let your cider meld together for 5-minutes.  Then set your slow cooker to high for 1 hour and then turn down to low and cook for 3-4 hours. Adding more cider to cooker if liquids reduce too quickly.

Tip: When turning your slow cooker down to low is a great time to test your blend for sweetness and spice. Add more to your cider accordingly. 

Crock-Pot Apple Chai Cider

When your drink is done, serve warm and garnish with star anise or a cinnamon stick. This drink is always a favorite for family get-togethers, and even for fun, family movie night deep in the Fall. While for everyday use this awesome cider gets placed in a mug.

Crock-Pot Apple Chai Cider

Crock-Pot Apple Chai Cider

Now be sure to not throw out your apples! Simply remove your star anise and whole cinnamon sticks and then add additional apple cider back into your crockpot and purree your blend with an emulsion blender to create some of the best apple butter you’ve ever had!

It freezes well and makes for awesome, frugal holiday gift and hostess gift offering too! Also be sure to check out my other holiday recipes here!

So, friends, tell me, do you have any tips, tricks, hacks, or suggestions for homemade apple cider drinks, I’d love to hear about it below!

Crock-Pot Apple Chai Cider

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 5 hours

Total Time: 5 hours, 15 minutes

Yield: 8 1-cup servings

Serving Size: 8 ounces

Crock-Pot Apple Chai Cider

A delicious fall-inspired cider recipe. Great for cold days at home and perfect for celebrating the bountiful harvest of apples during National Apple Month each fall!

Ingredients

  • 5 organic apples; cored, spiralized, and seeded
  • 3 cups fresh brewed chai tea
  • 1/2 gallon apple cider; apple juice can be substituted
  • 3 cinnamon sticks
  • 1 teaspoon ground clove
  • 3 dried orange slices
  • 1/2 teaspoon cardamom
  • 1/4 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
  • 5 whole peppercorns
  • 1/2 cup organic caster sugar
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon organic apple cider vinegar
  • 3 star anise pieces
  • 1 teaspoon chia seeds

Instructions

  1. Prepare your apples, set aside
  2. Create a mixture of sugar and ground cinnamon. Sprinkle over your apples on a baking sheet. Set aside.
  3. Add remaining spices to your crockpot, apple cider vinegar, and half of your cider to your crockpot. Stir to combine.
  4. Add your apples to your crockpot. Top with remaining cider.
  5. Cook on high for 1 hour then reduce heat to low for 3-4 hours.
  6. Serve warm with cinnamon stick and star anise garnish.
  7. Enjoy!
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Crock-Pot Apple Chai Cider

5 Tips for a Healthier Fall

This post is sponsored by Pearls® but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.5 Tips for a Healthier Fall

Leading a healthy lifestyle is something we all want to do, right? But for WAHMs, who are being pulled in a million directions, it can feel nearly impossible. While not an expert on health, nor a billboard for the ideal body type, I do know a few things about health and wellness at home. In fact, over the past year and a half, I’ve lost 117 pounds. With a large part of my success being attributed to maintaining a healthy business and familiar boundaries, a consistent self-care routine, planned workouts at home, and a constant meal prep schedule.

Because to me, a healthy lifestyle doesn’t mean deprivation and is not measured by the way of the scale. Instead, it means a happy, active life that I can spend nurturing relationships with my family all while maintaining healthy food options at home. Options you can easily make for yourself too! Which is why I’m sharing with you today my 5 favorite tips for leading a healthier lifestyle this season at home:

1. Eat your frogs early.

One way I maintain a healthier lifestyle at home is by consistently waking up early each morning. I wake up daily at 5 am. I then set out to eat my frogs early, and by this I mean, start performing the tasks I don’t necessarily enjoy doing but must get done. Including getting into a treadmill routine each morning before 6 am. This allows me to get my last favorite activity done quickly and allows me to get on with my day. Then, by having this task done, I feel more accomplished, am in a better mood, and have a better framework to start off my day. All because I eat my frogs early.

2. Meal plan weekly.

At the start of each month, my husband and I sit down and work out a monthly meal plan and working shopping list. This helps us to eat better meals, have consistency in our portions, and to only stock our home with an easy-to-prepare plant-based meal at home. This also allows us to save quite a bit of money at the store. As instead of picking up meals on-the-go, we can have planned, prepped meals ready to make. Meals my family looks forward to eating each week.

Because by consistently meal planning, my family and I are able to eat better meals at home but also meals featuring fresh and locally sourced products that are often more zero-waste too! Especially in the fall with the affordable abundance of butternut squash, cranberry, zucchini, and pumpkin dishes that can be made on a dime!

Did I mention that we meal plan and shop for a month’s worth of meals for our family for under $200.00 monthly? There’s that too. Which is meal planning is my favorite way to save money and lead a healthier lifestyle at home! Now, if you’d like to see this month’s meal plan, click here!

3. Prep healthier snacks at home.

One of my biggest food triggers is savory foods. And when I don’t have these foods prepped at home I tend to fill the void with lower quality, processed foods. To prevent this, I keep our fridge stocked with quick, easy-to-grab finger foods. Foods that help satisfy m foodie cravings while helping me stay on target, health-wise, at home. Especially important with the barrage of fall holidays throughout the season!

5 Tips for a Healthier Fall

5 Tips for a Healthier Fall

5 Tips for a Healthier Fall

Lately, I’ve been addicted to all things salty and savory. So I make sure to keep Pearls Olives to Go!® on hand. They come in a convenient little snack cups, for when you just need a little something to get you by between planned meals at home. I also love that they come in a myriad of fun flavors like Taco, Italian Herb, and Sriracha. The Pearls Olives To Go!® Italian Herb and Stuffed Green Pimento flavors are amazing though, with Italian Herb being my family’s favorite.

They’re gluten-free, keto-friendly, vegan, and obviously, plant-based. Which checks off all my snack-worthy requirements!

5 Tips for a Healthier Fall

5 Tips for a Healthier Fall

I can pack them in my yoga bag, my family’s lunch bags, and keep some ready in our food pantry for guests that drop by too! And if you want to try them this fall as well, be sure to use this coupon from coupons.com! You can purchase them on Amazon or use the store locator on their website. In my local grocery store, they’re located in the aisle with all other canned condiments!

4. Give yourself grace.

Even with the best of meal planning and meal prep standards in place, slip-ups happen. Because life gets busy. Which is why I also sometimes grab just a cup of Pearls Olives to Go!® and just a little cut up fruit and veggies instead of a whole meal. Sometimes I might even grab a quick vegan wrap out. A veggie sub. A burrito bowl. Or a big bowl of vegan nacho-cheese flavored popcorn! It happens to us all, and when it happens to you this season, give yourself plenty of grace!

5. Bust a move.

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I’ve never loved the gym. We’ve never been the best of friends. Which is why I exercise at home and find seasonal ways to incorporate more exercise into my healthy lifestyle at home by finding ways around this. Especially in the fall when my family and I walk by our local lake, take in the sights, and enjoy all the blazing color this season has to share. Then, in the time it takes to get a few conversations in about our week while enjoying nature, I’ve been able to walk 3-4 miles. There’s something to be said about getting your heart pumping while enjoying the fall foliage!

Friends, those are my super simple tips for leading a healthier lifestyle at home this season. Tips that are neither too demanding or simplistic, but rather are small, obtainable goals that can help you be in better shape and spirits before the start of the new year!  Also be sure to check out this coupon and give Pearls Olives To Go!® a try. Then be sure to leave me a comment below and let me know your favorite tips for healthier falls at home!5 Tips for a Healthier Fall